The management of the recently renamed Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, formerly known as The Polytechnic, Ibadan, has warned the students of the institution against any planned protest, scheduled for Tuesday (today).
In a statement released by the Acting Registrar/Secretary to the Council of the institution, Joseph Ogunjimi in Ibadan, the state capital, on Monday, the management advised parents and guardians to call their children or wards to order.
The PUNCH reports that the state governor, Seyi Makinde, had renamed the institution in honour of the late former governor of the state, Omololu Olunloyo, who died at the age of 89.
This decision prompted the students to stage a protest last Tuesday, and disrupted both academic and other activities in the institution.
The protesters also marched to the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, demanding that the institution’s former name be reinstated.
Chanting solidarity songs and holding placards with different inscriptions such as “Revert The Name Now,” “We Are Not Consulted,” and “Our Identity, Our Pride,” the students called for an immediate reversal of the renaming, citing a lack of consultation and a disregard for the institution’s longstanding identity.
However, the management, in a statement titled, “Poly Management Cautions Students’ Union On Planned Protest, Advises Parents To Call Them To Order,” further warned them against closure of the gates leading to the institution.
The statement explained that information available to the management revealed that the students are planning to close the school gates this morning to further show their grievances.
It read, “The management advises the Students’ Union and the entire students’ body not to be involved in any protest or closure of the gates leading to the institution.
“The management warns the students against any protest that will be inimical to the interest of the institution and the government, as such action will not be tolerated.
“Any action against the interest of the institution or government will be considered as an affront by the authorities.
“Appropriate security agencies, who would work in conjunction with the institution’s security, have been mobilised to maintain peace and order within the institution.”
The authority of the institution urged the parents and guardians to warn their wards against activities that would disturb the peace of the institution.
